Manifold valve

ABSTRACT

A manifold valve according to the present invention includes a main body ( 1 ) and actuators ( 2, 3 ) each having a valve body ( 46, 47 ). The main body is formed with at least one set of a main flow passage-side valve chamber ( 17 ) and a secondary flow passage-side valve chamber ( 19 ) which are in communication with each other through a connecting flow passage ( 11 ), a branched flow passage ( 9 ) communicating with the main flow passage-side valve chamber, a-main flow passage ( 6 ) communicating with the main flow passage-side valve chamber through a main flow passage-side communication port ( 13 ) opening at a center of a bottom of the main flow passage-side valve chamber, and a secondary flow passage ( 7 ) communicating with the secondary flow passage-side valve chamber through a secondary flow passage-side communication port ( 15 ) opening at a center of a bottom of the secondary flow passage-side valve chamber. The main flow passage-side communication port and the secondary flow passage-side communication port are opened and closed by valve bodies ( 46, 47 ) of the actuators, respectively. Further, the connecting flow passage and the branched flow passage are structured such that bottoms thereof are substantially flush with those of the main flow passage-side valve chamber and the secondary flow passage-side valve chamber.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a manifold valve having a main flowpassage, a secondary flow passage and a branch flow passage and, moreparticularly, to a manifold valve which achieves a compact size and anexceptional cleaning effect.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, in a line, which is branched from a main flow passage ofa slurry line, in the semiconductor industry, or from various chemicalliquid lines and supplies a fluid, there has been often provided a line(a secondary flow passage) for cleaning the branched line, for thepurpose of preventing from occurrence of trouble such as the aggregationor fixation of the slurry or the deposition of crystals or the like.Generally, there have been adopted a method of incorporating three-wayvalves 200, 201, two-way valves 202, 203 and T-shaped pipes 204, 205with a main flow passage 206, secondary flow passages 207, 208 andbranched flow passages 209, 210, as shown in FIG. 18, or a method ofincorporating three-way valves 211, 212 and four-way valves 213, 214with a main flow passage 215, a secondary flow passage 216 and branchedflow passages 217, 218, as shown in FIG. 19.

However, in the former method shown in FIG. 18, there are caused aproblem in that a slurry stagnates in the flow passage portions from theT-shaped pipes 204, 205 to the two-way valves 202, 203, respectively,and a problem in that the flow passage portions from the three-wayvalves 200, 201 to the T-shaped pipes 204. 205, respectively, are notsufficiently cleaned. Also, in the latter method shown in FIG. 19, thereis caused another problem in that the space required for piping isincreased as the number of the branched flow passages increases and,therefore, the number of the valves increases, resulting in an increasedcost.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a manifoldvalve which achieves a compact size and an exceptional cleaning effect.

According to the present invention, there is provided a manifold valvewhich includes: a main body; actuators each having a valve body; themain body formed with at least one set of a main flow passage-side valvechamber and a secondary flow passage-side valve chamber which are incommunication with each other through a connecting flow passage, abranched flow passage communicating with the main flow passage-sidevalve chamber, a main flow passage communicating with the main flowpassage-side valve chamber through a main flow passage-sidecommunication port opening at a center of a bottom of the main flowpassage-side valve chamber, and a secondary flow passage communicatingwith the secondary flow passage-side valve chamber through a secondaryflow passage-side communication port opening at a center of a bottom ofthe secondary flow passage-side valve chamber; the main flowpassage-side communication port and the secondary flow passage-sidecommunication port being opened and closed by the valve bodies of theactuators, respectively; and the connecting flow passage and thebranched flow passage being structured such that bottoms thereof aresubstantially flush with the bottoms of the main flow passage-side valvechamber and the secondary flow passage-side valve chamber.

Preferably, the manifold valve is formed with a plurality of main flowpassage-side valve chambers, which communicate with the same main flowpassage through respective main flow passage-side communication ports.

Preferably, the manifold valve is formed with a plurality of secondaryflow passage-side valve chambers, which communicate with the samesecondary flow passage or different secondary flow passages throughrespective secondary flow passage-side communication ports thereof.

In the above-mentioned manifold valve, the main flow passage may extendparallel to or perpendicular to the secondary flow passage.

The main flow passage may extend through said main body. Alternatively,it may not extend through the main body or, in other words, it may open,at one end thereof, to outside and may terminate, at the other endthereof, in the interior of the main body.

Similarly, the secondary flow passage may extend through the main body.Alternatively, it may not open, at one end thereof, to outside and mayterminate, at the other end thereof, in the interior of the main body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be described below in more detail on the basis ofpreferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating only a main body of a manifold valveaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main body taken along aline II-II of FIG. 1 with four actuators fixed to the main body,illustrating the condition in which a main flow passage-sidecommunication port is opened and a secondary flow passage-sidecommunication port is closed;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main body taken along aline III-III of FIG. 1 with four actuators fixed to the main body,illustrating the condition in which both of two main flow passage-sidecommunication ports are opened;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main body taken along aline IV-IV of FIG. 1 with four actuators fixed to the main body,illustrating the condition in which a main flow passage-sidecommunication port is opened and a secondary flow passage-sidecommunication port is closed;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the actuator;

FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional perspective view of the main body shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating only a main body of a manifold valveaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating only a main body of a manifold valveaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 9A to 9F are external appearance views illustrating a flow offluid in respective combinations of opening and closing of therespective communication ports in the manifold valve according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an external appearance view illustrating a branched chemicalliquid supply line using the manifold valve according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a plan view illustrating only a main body of a manifold valveaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main body taken along aline XII-XII of FIG. 11 with four actuators fixed to the main body,illustrating the condition in which a main flow passage-sidecommunication port is opened and a secondary flow passage-sidecommunication port is closed;

FIG. 13 is a three-dimensional perspective view of the main body shownin FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a three-dimensional perspective view illustrating only a mainbody of a manifold valve according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 is a plan view illustrating only a main body of a manifold valveaccording to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 16A to 16F are external appearance views illustrating flows offluid in respective combinations of opening and closing of therespective communication ports in manifold valve according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is an external appearance view illustrating a branched chemicalliquid supply line using the manifold valve according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is an external appearance view illustrating a prior art branchedchemical liquid supply line using three-way valves, two-way valves andT-shaped pipes; and

FIG. 19 is an external appearance view illustrating another prior artbranched chemical liquid supply line using three-way valves and four-wayvalves.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed below with reference to the attached drawings, the presentinvention should not, of course, be limited thereto.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, a manifold valve according to thepresent invention includes a main body 1, a main flow passage 6, asecondary flow passage 7 and a branched flow passage 9. The main body isformed in an upper portion thereof with a cylindrical main flowpassage-side valve chamber 17 and a secondary flow passage-side valvechamber 19 which are in communication with each other through aconnecting flow passage 11. The main flow passage 6 is in communicationwith a main flow passage communication port 13 formed at a center of abottom of the main flow passage-side valve chamber 17 and extendsthrough the whole of the main body 1 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. Thesecondary flow passage 7 is in vertical communication with a secondaryflow passage-side communication port 15 formed at a center of a bottomof the secondary flow passage-side valve chamber 19. The branched flowpassage 9 is in communication with the main flow passage-side valvechamber 17 and is located on a side of the main body 1 opposite to thesecondary flow passage 7. The connecting flow passage 11 is structuredsuch that a bottom thereof is substantially flush with the bottoms ofthe main flow passage-side valve chamber 17 and the secondary flowpassage-side valve chamber 19, while the branched flow passage 9 is alsostructured such that a bottom thereof is substantially flush with thebottom of the main flow passage-side valve chamber 17. Thus, a structureis obtained which prevents a portion likely to stagnate the fluid fromappearing in the main flow passage-side valve chamber 17 and thesecondary flow passage-side valve chamber 19.

As apparent from FIGS. 1 to 5, the main flow passage 6 extends in adirection perpendicularly intersecting each of the secondary flowpassage 7, the branched flow passage 9 and the connecting flow passage11. In other words, the secondary flow passage 7, the branched flowpassage 9 and the connecting passage are parallel to each other andextend in the same direction.

Also, the edges of openings or the peripheral portions of the main flowpassage-side communication port 13 and the secondary flow passage-sidecommunication port 15 constitute valve seats 21, 22 which valve bodies46, 47 of the actuators 2, 3 are pressed against or are separated from.The main flow passage-side valve chamber 17 is formed to have a diameterlarger than those of the main flow passage-side communication port 13and the valve body 46, and, similarly, the secondary flow passage-sidevalve chamber 19 is formed to have a diameter larger than those of thesecondary flow passage-side communication port 15 and the valve body 47.

Another main flow passage-side communication port 14 different from themain flow passage-side communication port 13 is formed at a differentposition along the main flow passage 6 (see FIG. 3). There is alsoformed, in the main flow passage-side communication port 14, a main flowpassage-side valve chamber 18, a branched flow passage 10, a connectingflow passage 12, a secondary flow passage-side valve chamber 20, asecondary flow passage-side communication port 16 and a secondary flowpassage 8, which are in the same relationship as that between the mainflow passage communication port 13, the main flow passage-side valvechamber 17, the branched flow passage 9, the connecting flow passage 11,the secondary flow passage-side communication port 15 and the secondaryflow passage 7. In other words, in this embodiment, four valve chambersare formed in the main body 1 (see FIGS. 1 and 6).

While two main flow passage-side communication ports 13 and 14 areformed in the main flow passage 6 according to this embodiment, this isnot limitative but three or more main flow passage-side communicationports may be formed in the main flow passage 6 with the same design asdescribed above, for any purpose, to increase the number of valvechambers.

Also, while the secondary flow passage, the branched flow passage andthe connecting flow passage have the same diameter as that of the mainflow passage in the drawings used for the description of thisembodiment, the diameters, of course, may be changed for any purpose.

In this embodiment, coupling portions 25 and 26 are formed to projectfrom lateral surfaces of the main body 1, through which the main flowpassage 6 extends. The secondary flow passages 7, 8 and the branchedflow passages 9, 10, are also formed to have similar structures (seeFIG. 1). The connection of a piping tube 37 to the coupling portion 25is achieved by first fitting the piping tube 37 to a forward end 44 ofthe coupling portion 25 and then screwing a female thread portion 45 ofa cap nut 31 on a male thread portion 43 provided on the outerperipheral surface of the coupling portion 25 to clamp and securing anend of the piping tube 37 between them (see FIG. 3). Piping tubes 38 to42 are also connected to other coupling portions 26 to 30, respectively,in the same manner as described above. As for the configuration forconnecting the piping tubes 37 to 42 to the main body 1, it is notlimited to this embodiment but any other typical connectingconfiguration may be adopted.

The actuators 2 to 5 are fixed to the upper portion of the main body 1by through bolts and nuts (not shown). As the constitutions of theactuators are the same, the actuator 2 will be described as arepresentative (see FIG. 5).

In FIG. 5, a cylindrical body, which is designated by reference numeral“50”, has a cylindrical cylinder portion 54 in the interior thereof, acolumnar protrusion 55 on the lower surface thereof, and a through-hole56 formed to extend from a center of a bottom of the cylinder portion 54through the protrusion 55. An O-ring 69 is fitted on the innerperipheral surface of the through-hole 56. Further, a pair of workingfluid supply ports 64, 65, which are in communication with the upper andlower portions of the cylinder portion 54, respectively, are formed onthe lateral surface of the cylindrical body 50.

A cylinder cap, which is designated by reference numeral “51”, isprovided at a bottom thereof with a columnar protrusion 57 having anO-ring 67 fitted thereto and is secured to the cylindrical body 50 byfitting the columnar protrusion 57 into the upper portion of thecylinder portion 54 with the O-ring 67 placed between them. In thisembodiment, the main body 1, the cylindrical body 50 and the cylindercap 51 are secured to each other as a unit by through bolts and nuts(not shown).

A piston, which is designated by reference numeral “52”, has an O-ring68 fitted to the outer peripheral surface thereof, and is fitted intothe cylinder portion 54 of the cylindrical body 50 with the O-ring 68placed between them so as to slidably move upward and downward. A rodportion 58 is integral with the piston 52 at a center of the lower endsurface thereof so as to extend through a through hole 56 of thecylindrical body 50 in a slidable manner, and a joining portion 59 towhich a valve body 46 of a diaphragm 53 is joined is provided at aforward end of the rod portion 58. Also, an upper space 62 is defined bythe upper surface of the piston 52, the inner peripheral surface of thecylinder portion 54 and the lower surface of the cylinder cap 51, whilea lower space 63 is defined by the lower surface of the piston 52, theouter peripheral surface of the rod portion 58, and the inner peripheralsurface and the bottom surface of the cylinder portion 54.

The diaphragm 53 is integrally provided at a center of the lower surfacethereof with the valve body 46, which is pressed against or separatedfrom the valve seat 21 (i.e., the opening edge of the main flowpassage-side communication port 13) formed on the main body 1. The valvebody 46 is joined to the forward end of the rod portion 58 of the piston52 by screwing. A cylindrical membrane portion 60 is provided along theouter peripheral edge of the diaphragm 53, and an annular projection 61is provided along the outer periphery of the upper end of thecylindrical membrane portion 60. The cylindrical membrane portion 60 isclamped by the inner peripheral surface of the main flow passage-sidevalve chamber 17 of the main body 1 and the outer peripheral surface ofthe protrusion 55 of the cylindrical body 50. Also, the annularprojection 61 is inserted into a stepped portion 66 formed in the upperportion of the inner peripheral surface of the main flow passage-sidevalve chamber 16 with an O-ring 70 placed between the cylindrical body50 and the annular projection 61, and is clamped and secured by theinner peripheral surface of the main flow passage-side valve chamber 17and the outer peripheral surface of the protrusion 55 of the cylindricalbody. A configuration of the diaphragm 53 should not be limited to thatdisclosed in this embodiment and thus any other type of diaphragm havinga membrane portion clamped by the main body 1 and the cylindrical body50, such as a bellows type diaphragm, may be used.

Also, as for the construction of the actuator, a construction having aspring in the interior thereof or a manually operable type constructionmay be used as long as the actuator has valve bodies for opening andclosing the main flow passage-side communication port and the secondaryflow passage-side communication port, respectively, and thus it is notparticularly limited to that disclosed in this embodiment. Further,although it is preferable to separately provide the actuators havingthese valve bodies on the side of the main flow passage and on the sideof the secondary flow passage, the actuators may be provided integrallyand the arrangement thereof is not limited to a particular one.

The members used in the present invention, such as a main body orothers, are preferably made of fluorocarbon resin, such aspolytetrafluoroethylene (hereinafter referred to as PTFE) ortetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkylvinylether copolymer (hereinafterreferred to as PFA), since fluorocarbon resin has a superior chemicalresistance characteristics and elutes less impurities. However, otherplastics, such as polyvinylchlorlde or polypropylene, or even metal maybe used, and thus the materials for the main body, etc., are notespecially limited. Also, fluorocarbon resin, such as PTFE or PFA, ispreferably used as a material for the diaphragm. However, rubber ormetal may be used, and the material is not especially limited.

Next, the operation of the manifold valve according to the firstembodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 will be describedbelow.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the condition in which the main flowpassage-side communication port 13 is opened and the secondary flowpassage-side communication port 15 is closed. In this condition, thefluid in the main flow passage 6 flows to the secondary flowpassage-side valve chamber 19, the connecting flow passage 11, the mainflow passage-side valve chamber 17 and the branched flow passage 9. Whenthe working fluid (for example, a compressed air etc.) is supplied fromthe outside through the working fluid supply port 64 of the actuator 2shown in FIG. 5 into the upper space 62 in this condition, the piston 52is pushed down by the pressure of the working fluid, so that the valvebody 46 connected to the lower end of the rod portion 58 is pressedagainst the valve seat 21 to close the main flow passage-sidecommunication port 13. On the other hand, when the working fluid issupplied to the lower space 63 from the working fluid supply port 65 ofthe actuator 3, the piston 52 is pushed up by the pressure of theworking fluid, so that the valve body 47 connected to the lower end ofthe rod portion 58 is separated away from the valve seat 22 to open thesecondary flow passage communication port 15 and to allow the fluid inthe secondary flow passage 7 to flow into the secondary flowpassage-side valve chamber 19, the connecting flow passage 11, the mainflow passage-side valve chamber 17 and the branched flow passage 9. (Asthe working fluid supply port, the lower space, the piston and the rodportion of the actuator 3 are the same as those of the actuator 2, thesame reference numerals as those of the actuator 2 are used fordesignating them.) The opening and closing operations of the main flowpassage-side communication port 14 and the secondary flow passage-sidecommunication port 16 shown in FIG. 4 are carried out in the same manneras described above.

For example, when the valve according to this embodiment is used in aline for supplying a slurry from the main flow passage 6 side and thecleaning liquid from the secondary flow passages 7 and 8 side anddischarging them from the branched flow passages 9 and 10, the slurryflowing in the main flow passage 6 flows through the main flowpassage-side valve chambers 17, 18 and is discharged from the branchedflow passages 9 and 10 in the condition shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, butthe slurry is still stagnating in the connecting flow passages 11, 12and the secondary flow passage-side valve chambers 19, 20. However, ifthe cleaning liquid is made to flow from the secondary flow passages 7,8 by closing the main flow passage-side communication ports 13, 14 andopening the secondary flow passage-side communication ports 15, 16 inthis condition, the stagnating slurry is discharged from the branchedflow passages 9, 10 so that the interior of the valve can be cleaned. Inthis embodiment, as the bottom surfaces of the branched flow passages 9,10, the main flow passage-side valve chambers 17, 18, the connectingflow passages 11, 12 and the secondary flow passage-side valve chambers19, 20 are designed to be substantially flush with each other asdescribed above, the volume of the manifold valve in which the fluid maystagnate becomes as small as possible. Also, as the respective flowpassages are formed in a straight line, the pressure loss is low.Therefore, an exceptional cleaning effect can be obtained.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating only a main body 71 of a manifoldvalve according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Thedifference thereof from the first embodiment is that secondary flowpassages 73, 74 at opposite end of the main body extend parallel to amain flow passage 72 and are opened on a lateral surface of the mainbody 71 on which the main flow passage 72 is opened. The otherconstructions, such as branched flow passages 75, 76, are the same as inthe manifold valve of the first embodiment, and, therefore, adescription thereof will be omitted. Also, the operation of the secondembodiment is the same as in the first embodiment except that the flowdirection of the fluid flowing in the secondary flow passages 73, 74 isonly changed to a direction perpendicular to the connecting flowpassages 77, 78, and, therefore, the description of the operationthereof will be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating only a main body 79 of a manifoldvalve according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Thedifference thereof from the first embodiment is that a main flow passage80 does not extend through a main body 79 but opens only on one lateralsurface of the main body 79, i.e., one end of the main flow passage 80opens to the outside of the main body 79, while the other end thereofterminates in the interior of the main body 79. The other constructionssuch as secondary flow passages 81, 82, branched flow passages 83, 84 orconnecting flow passages 85, 86 are the same as in the manifold valveaccording to the first embodiment and, therefore, the descriptionthereof will be omitted. Also, the operation of the second embodiment isthe same as in the first embodiment and, therefore, a descriptionthereof will be omitted.

FIGS. 9A to 9F illustrate a representative flow of fluid in therespective combinations of opening and closing of the respectivecommunication ports in the manifold valve, wherein the manifold valveaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention is used and achemical liquid is supplied to the main flow passage and a cleaningliquid is supplied to the secondary flow passage. It is apparent thatvarious methods may be used by various combinations of the opening andclosing as the actuators 2 to 5 are independently operable in thisembodiment, which means that this valve is very effective. This is alsotrue of the manifold valves according to the second and thirdembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates an external appearance view of a branched chemicalliquid supply line in which the manifold valve according to the firstembodiment of the present invention is applied to the above-mentionedprior art. In the drawing, reference numeral 87 designates a manifoldvalve according to the present invention; reference numerals 88 and 89designate main flow passages; reference numerals 90 and 91 designatesecondary flow passages; and reference numerals 92 and 93 designatebranched flow passages, respectively. As can be seen from the drawing,compared with the conventional line shown in FIG. 18, the number ofvalves and T-shaped pipes can be reduced, i.e., one valve according tothis embodiment is sufficient to meet the requirements. Thus, the pipingline can be simplified, the piping space can be smaller, and the layingof lines can be easily performed.

While the embodiment of the present invention has been described abovein which separate secondary flow passages are formed in correspondenceto the respective secondary flow passage-side valve chambers formed inthe manifold valve, the present invention should not be limited thereto.For example, as described hereinafter, a plurality of secondary flowpassage-side valve chambers may be in communication with the samesecondary flow passage through the respective secondary flowpassage-side communication ports.

FIG. 11 is a plan view illustrating only a main body 94 of a manifoldvalve according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 12is a longitudinal sectional view of the main body taken along a lineXII-XII of FIG. 11 with four actuators fixed to the main body; and FIG.13 is a perspective view of the main body shown in FIG. 11. Thedifference of the fourth embodiment from the first embodiment is that asecondary flow passage 96 extends parallel to a main flow passage 95through the main body 94, and two secondary flow passage-side valvechambers 107, 108 communicating with two main flow passage-side valvechambers 105, 106 through connecting flow passages 99, 100,respectively, is in communication with the same secondary flow passage96 through secondary flow passage-side communication ports 103, 104,respectively. While branched flow passages 97, 98 and the connectingflow passages 99, 100 extend in a direction perpendicular to the mainflow passage 95 and the secondary flow passage 96, the otherconstructions such as main flow passage-side communication ports 101,102 or coupling portions 109 to 114 are the same as in the firstembodiment, and, therefore, a description thereof will be omitted. Also,the operation of the manifold valve according to this embodiment is thesame as in the first embodiment except that the cleaning liquid flowsfrom the secondary flow passages 7, 8 to the secondary flow passage-sidevalve chambers 19, 20 when the secondary flow passage-side communicationports 15, 16 are opened in the manifold valve of the first embodiment,while the cleaning liquid flows from the same secondary flow passage 96to the respective secondary flow passage-side valve chambers 107, 108when the secondary flow passage-side communication ports 103, 104 areopened in the manifold valve of this embodiment. Therefore, adescription thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 14 is a three-dimensional perspective view illustrating only a mainbody 115 of a manifold valve according to a fifth embodiment of thepresent invention. The difference thereof from the first embodiment isthat three main flow passage-side communication ports 124, 125, 126 areformed in a main flow passage 116 while three secondary flowpassage-side communication ports 127, 128, 129 are formed in a secondaryflow passage 117, and that there is formed, in correspondence to therespective communication ports, main flow passage-side valve chambers130, 131, 132, secondary flow passage-side valve chambers 133, 134, 135,branched flow passages 118, 119, 120, and connecting flow passages 121,122, 123, which are in the same relationship as that of the main flowpassage-side valve chamber 17, the secondary flow passage-side valvechamber 19, the branched flow passage 9 and the connecting flow passage11 relative to the main flow passage-side communication port 13 and thesecondary flow passage-side communication port 15 in the firstembodiment. Also, the operation thereof is the same as in the fourthembodiment and, therefore, a description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 15 is a plan view illustrating only a main body 136 of a manifoldvalve according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. Thedifference thereof from the first embodiment is that a main flow passage137 and a secondary flow passage 138 do not extend through the main body136 but are opened only on one lateral surface of the main body 136,i.e., one end of each of the main flow passage 137 and the secondaryflow passage 138 is opened to the outside of the main body 136 and theother end thereof terminates in the interior of the main body 136. Theother constructions such as branched flow passages 139, 140, connectingflow passages 141, 142, main flow passage-side communication ports 143,144, secondary flow passage-side communication ports 145, 146, main flowpassage-side valve chambers 147, 148 or secondary flow passage-sidevalve chambers 149, 150 are the same as in the manifold valve accordingto the first embodiment and, therefore, a description thereof will beomitted. Also, the operation thereof is the same as in the fourthembodiment and, therefore, a description thereof will be omitted.

FIGS. 16A to 16F illustrate a representative flow of fluid in therespective combinations of opening and closing of the respectivecommunication ports, wherein the manifold valve according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention is used and a chemical liquid flowsin the main flow passage and a cleaning liquid flows in the secondaryflow passage. It is apparent that various methods may be used by variouscombinations of the opening and closing as the actuators 2 to 5 areindependently operable in this embodiment, which means that thismanifold valve is very effective similar to that shown in FIG. 1. Thisis also true to the manifold valves according to the fifth and sixthembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates an external appearance view of a branched chemicalliquid supply line in which the manifold valve according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention is applied to the above-mentionedprior art. In the drawing, reference numeral 151 designates a manifoldvalve according to the present invention; reference numeral 152designates a main flow passage; reference numeral 153 designates asecondary flow passage; and reference numerals 154 and 155 designatebranched flow passages, respectively. As can be seen from the drawing,comparing with the conventional lines shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, thenumber of valves and T-shaped pipes can be reduced, i.e., one valveaccording to this embodiment is sufficient to meet the requirements.Thus, the piping line can be simplified, the piping space can besmaller, and the laying of lines can be easily performed.

The manifold valve according to the present invention has a constructionas described above and thus the following superior effects can beachieved by using it.

(a) When the cleaning liquid or the like flows from the secondary flowpassage in a condition where the main flow passage-side valve is closedand the secondary flow passage-side valve is opened, the chemical liquidleft in the valve chambers can be effectively cleaned and discharged ifthe secondary flow passage-side valve chamber, the connecting passage,the main flow passage-side valve chamber and the branched flow passageare generally linearly arranged and the bottom surfaces thereof aresubstantially flush with each other. As a result, the time required forcleaning the flow passages in the valve can be greatly reduced.

(b) When the cleaning liquid flows from the secondary flow passage-side,it is made possible to simultaneously clean the interior of the valve orselectively clean a desired line by the opening and closing operationsof a plurality of secondary flow passage-side communication ports formedin the main body.

(c) When the main flow passage and/or the secondary flow passage areformed to extend through the main body, the respective fluids can beretained to flow or circulate even if the main flow passage-sidecommunication port and the secondary flow passage-side communicationport are closed. Thus, the manifold valve according to the presentinvention can be used for fluid having a high sedimentationcharacteristic, such as a slurry.

(d) As the valve construction is compact, the number of valves orT-shaped pipes in the piping line can be reduced in comparison with theprior art. Thus, the piping line can be simplified, the piping space canbe greatly smaller, and the laying of lines can be easily performed.

(e) When fluorocarbon resin such as PTFE or PFA, etc., is used for thematerials of the main body and the diaphragm, the chemical resistance isenhanced and the eluation of impurities to the fluid is a little. Thus,the manifold valve according to the present invention can be suitablyused for an ultra-pure water line in the semiconductor industry orvarious chemical liquid lines.

List of Reference Characters

-   1 Main body-   2 Actuator-   3 Actuator-   4 Actuator-   5 Actuator-   6 Main flow passage-   7 Secondary flow passage-   8 Secondary flow passage-   9 Branched flow passage-   10 Branched flow passage-   11 Connecting flow passage-   12 Connecting flow passage-   13 Main flow passage-side communication port-   14 Main flow passage-side communication port-   15 Secondary flow passage-side communication port-   16 Secondary flow passage-side communication port-   17 Main flow passage-side valve chamber-   18 Main flow passage-side valve chamber-   19 Secondary flow passage-side valve chamber-   20 Secondary flow passage-side valve chamber-   21 Valve seat-   22 Valve seat-   23 Valve seat-   24 Valve seat-   25 Coupling portion-   26 Coupling portion-   27 Coupling portion-   28 Coupling portion-   29 Coupling portion-   30 Coupling portion-   31 Cap nut-   32 Cap nut-   33 Cap nut-   34 Cap nut-   35 Cap nut-   36 Cap nut-   37 Piping tube-   38 Piping tube-   39 Piping tube-   40 Piping tube-   41 Piping tube-   42 Piping tube-   43 Male thread portion-   44 Forward end portion-   45 Female thread portion-   46 Valve body-   47 Valve body-   48 Valve body-   49 Valve body-   50 Cylinder body-   51 Cylinder cap-   52 Piston-   53 Diaphragm-   54 Cylinder portion-   55 Protrusion-   56 Through hole-   57 Columnar protrusion-   58 Rod portion-   59 Joining portion-   60 Cylindrical membrane portion-   61 Annular projection-   62 Upper gap-   63 Lower gap-   64 Working fluid supply port-   65 Working fluid supply port-   66 Stepped portion-   67 O-ring-   68 O-ring-   69 O-ring-   70 O-ring-   71 Main body-   72 Main flow passage-   73 Secondary flow passage-   74 Secondary flow passage-   75 Branched flow passage-   76 Branched flow passage-   77 Connecting flow passage-   78 Connecting flow passage-   79 Main body-   80 Main flow passage-   81 Secondary flow passage-   82 Secondary flow passage-   83 Branched flow passage-   84 Branched flow passage-   85 Connecting flow passage-   86 Connecting flow passage-   87 Manifold Valve-   88 Main flow passage-   89 Main flow passage-   90 Secondary flow passage-   91 Secondary flow passage-   92 Branched flow passage-   93 Branched flow passage-   94 Main body-   95 Main flow passage-   96 Secondary flow passage-   97 Branched flow passage-   98 Branched flow passage-   99 Connecting flow passage-   100 Connecting flow passage-   101 Main flow passage-side communication port-   102 Main flow passage-side communication port-   103 Secondary flow passage-side communication port-   104 Secondary flow passage-side communication port-   105 Main flow passage-side valve chamber-   106 Main flow passage-side valve chamber-   107 Secondary flow passage-side valve chamber-   108 Secondary flow passage-side valve chamber-   109 Coupling portion-   110 Coupling portion-   111 Coupling portion-   112 Coupling portion-   113 Coupling portion-   114 Coupling portion-   115 Main body-   116 Main flow passage-   117 Secondary flow passage-   118 Branched flow passage-   119 Branched flow passage-   120 Branched flow passage-   121 Connecting flow passage-   122 Connecting flow passage-   123 Connecting flow passage-   124 Main flow passage-side communication port-   125 Main flow passage-side communication port-   126 Main flow passage-side communication port-   127 Secondary flow passage-side communication port-   128 Secondary flow passage-side communication port-   129 Secondary flow passage-side communication port-   130 Main flow passage-side valve chamber-   131 Main flow passage-side valve chamber-   132 Main flow passage-side valve chamber-   133 Secondary flow passage-side valve chamber-   134 Secondary flow passage-side valve chamber-   135 Secondary flow passage-side valve chamber-   136 Main body-   137 Main flow passage-   138 Secondary flow passage-   139 Branched flow passage-   140 Branched flow passage-   141 Connecting flow passage-   142 Connecting flow passage-   143 Main flow passage-side communication port-   144 Main flow passage-side communication port-   145 Secondary flow passage-side communication port-   146 Secondary flow passage-side communication port-   147 Main flow passage-side valve chamber-   148 Main flow passage-side-valve chamber-   149 Secondary flow passage-side valve chamber-   150 Secondary flow passage-side valve chamber-   151 Manifold valve-   152 Main flow passage-   153 Secondary flow passage-   154 Branched flow passage-   155 Branched flow passage-   200 Three way valve-   201 Three way valve-   202 Four way valve-   203 Four way valve-   204 T-shaped pipe-   205 T-shaped pipe-   206 Main flow passage-   207 Secondary flow passage-   208 Secondary flow passage-   209 Branched flow passage-   210 Branched flow passage-   211 Three way valve-   212 Three way valve-   213 Four way valve-   214 Four way valve-   215 Main flow passage-   216 Secondary flow passage-   217 Branched flow passage-   218 Branched flow passage

1. A manifold valve comprising: a main body; actuators each having avalve body; said main body formed with at least one set of a main flowpassage-side valve chamber and a secondary flow passage-side valvechamber which are in communication with each other through a connectingflow passage, a branched flow passage communicating with said main flowpassage-side valve chamber, a main flow passage communicating with saidmain flow passage-side valve chamber through a main flow passage-sidecommunication port opening at a center of a bottom of said main flowpassage-side valve chamber, and a secondary flow passage communicatingwith said secondary flow passage-side valve chamber through a secondaryflow passage-side-communication port opening at a center of a bottom ofsaid secondary flow passage-side valve chamber; said main flowpassage-side communication port and said secondary flow passage-sidecommunication port being opened and closed by said valve bodies of saidactuators, respectively; and said connecting flow passage and saidbranched flow passage being structured such that bottoms thereof aresubstantially flush with the bottoms of said main flow passage-sidevalve chamber and said secondary flow passage-side valve chamber.
 2. Themanifold valve according to claim 1, wherein said manifold valve isformed with a plurality of main flow passage-side valve chambers, saidplurality of main flow passage-side valve chambers communicating withthe same main flow passage through respective main flow passage-sidecommunication ports.
 3. The manifold valve according to claim 1, whereinsaid manifold valve is formed with a plurality of secondary flowpassage-side valve chambers, said plurality of secondary flowpassage-side valve chambers communicating with different secondary flowpassages through respective secondary flow passage-side communicationports thereof.
 4. The manifold valve according to claim 1, wherein saidmanifold valve is formed with a plurality of secondary flow passage-sidevalve chambers, said plurality of secondary flow passage-side valvechambers communicating with the same secondary flow passage throughrespective secondary flow passage-side communication ports thereof. 5.The manifold valve according to claim 1, wherein said main flow passageextends parallel to said secondary flow passage.
 6. The manifold valveaccording to claim 1, wherein said main flow passage extendsperpendicular to said secondary flow passage.
 7. The manifold valveaccording to claim 1, wherein said main flow passage extends throughsaid main body.
 8. The manifold valve according to claim 1, wherein saidmain flow passage opens, at one end thereof, to the outside andterminates, at the other end thereof, in the interior of said main body.9. The manifold valve according to claim 1, wherein said secondary flowpassage extends through said main body.
 10. The manifold valve accordingto claim 1, wherein said secondary flow passage opens, at one endthereof, to the outside and terminates, at the other end thereof, in theinterior of said main body.